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Yes Miyoshi and Takagi can get married now! He better not screw up when he meets her parents. I mind Niizuma doing the art because there is no way i see Tanto being better than +natural. Ashirogi really is up against the ropes, but they passed one hurdle and finally got serialized again. Hiramaru always gives me a laugh.

Bakuman became kinda straining, it used to be fun...
Now it's all drama drama..
Hope it'll improve now that those two caught a break, although it won't be easy 'cause Niizuma put a serious challenge in front of them.

I swear that series is the anchor that can't be shaken off. I hoped that after failing once they'd change gears, but apparently they need this serialization to fail first. Frustrating, but there you have it.

Don't think it's a big deal for Niizuma to draw two. Since he doesn't even need to think about the plot for the second one his attention shouldn't be split up so much. Love the irony that he's doing this mostly to get his rivals fired up.

Iwase really is the type that you almost want to see get knocked down a notch. A ton of pride so having her fail once wouldn't be bad.

Glad for Miyoshi and Takagi since no matter how short Tanto's serialization is they will still get married.

Still curious to see what will happen. No way that Ashirogi can match up against Iwase/Niizuma with this gag manga. Have to wonder as well how far Iwase's pride and rivalry with Takagi can take her with this. Plenty of talent, but she doesn't exactly care about manga.

Spoiler for 18 - ugh:

Yup - that was the most depressing "good news" ever. I think you can see in Mashiro's eyes this week that the light has gone on - Miura just doesn't get it. It's telling that Ashirogi seemed almost depressed when they got the news. Hopefully Hattori can motivate them sufficiently from behind the scenes to get them past this.

I'm pretty much resigned that the rest of S2 is lost to "Tanto", and we won't see anything decent from Ashirogi until S3. I get the idea of wanting to go behind the scenes of a gag manga (well, it is making me gag) but I think it's a bad dramatic choice.

I feel glad for Ashirogi Muto's newest serialization, because Miyoshi and Takagi can get to marry in a very immediate future. However, the bad news is that Iwase's work got into the serialization, and the art done nonetheless by Niizuma Eiji, Ashirogi Muto's rival.

Of course, this was the grander scheme of Hattori Akira to fire up Ashirogi Muto, and Team Fukuda (minus Hiramaru) won't allow themselves to fall back to +Natural.

Pretty much, this season's manga for Ashirogi Muto has ended with just Hirameki Tanto going into serialization for the remainder of the episodes, so it'll be long wait for the second season to end. Moreover, it would be an even longer wait for season 3 to come out later this year.

As for Iwase, pretty much she's how Aoki Kou used to be but far prideful and hurt that Takagi will marry Miyoshi.

Spoiler:

It's obvious that Iwase has a crush on Takagi, but she's just too damn prideful to admit it in public; it became apparent on the day when she personally asked to stop with manga and compete with her at writing novels.

As for Miura, well the guy's doing what he can and got Tanto serialized.

Ha ha, the feelings here (of the viewers) are the exact same as they were at this point in the manga (of the readers). We were all feeling as crappy and confused as the duo.

Also, if anyone in the manga thread also follows this one they'll know I constantly compliment Kaya for every chapter she's is in. I can also start doing the same here, now that the OP has changed slightly. I've been waiting to see her animated in her wedding dress since I read the chapter, and I am not disappointed! Shujin you lucky bastard.

Ha ha, the feelings here (of the viewers) are the exact same as they were at this point in the manga (of the readers). We were all feeling as crappy and confused as the duo.

Also, if anyone in the manga thread also follows this one they'll know I constantly compliment Kaya for every chapter she's is in. I can also start doing the same here, now that the OP has changed slightly. I've been waiting to see her animated in her wedding dress since I read the chapter, and I am not disappointed! Shujin you lucky bastard.

Good times ahead for sure.

Always darkest before the dawn, eh?

In a way, it's good to know the manga readers were just as pissed as I am. It's certainly a bold creative choice. They're not going to lose me, but I wonder how many readers (or viewers) the series lost by having so much epic fail happening for so long to Ashirogi.

Ha ha, the feelings here (of the viewers) are the exact same as they were at this point in the manga (of the readers). We were all feeling as crappy and confused as the duo.

Also, if anyone in the manga thread also follows this one they'll know I constantly compliment Kaya for every chapter she's is in. I can also start doing the same here, now that the OP has changed slightly. I've been waiting to see her animated in her wedding dress since I read the chapter, and I am not disappointed! Shujin you lucky bastard.

Speaking of which, though the engagement itself most likely gave it away before, by should it should be even more apparent just why exactly some of us started calling her "Kaya" way back when

I guess I'm in the minority that doesn't mind the recent developments. I mean, I don't like Ashirogi Muto's current direction but it's nonetheless a nice look into when an author tries breaking out into a different area (be it by choice or by circumstance) that does not suit them at all. It's part of life and part of their growth. There's no doubt Tanto will fail by the end of this season since there's no way it'll stand a chance in hell against the Eiji x Bitch Iwase combo.

Speaking of Iwase, I totally laughed when she got all high and mighty and walked out on Team Fukuda. Aoki's "Oh gosh was that how I was like?" reaction was priceless. She's such an adorable character now. That said, I want Iwase to go right after Tanto. There's no need for another arrogant-author-dragged-off-her-pedestal character so she can go back to being in the background once her rivalry with Shujin is dealt with. Her loss will be delicious to watch... in season 3.

Congrats to Takagi and Kaya. That's an actual congrats unlike Iwase who just showed up to be a jerk. It is pretty nuts how the lives of the two couples intertwine so much. Of course it also helped getting the approval from Kaya's father. Good thing it wasn't about karate since Mashiro and Takagi would have gotten their asses kicked. It's nice though for Takagi and Kaya to take this step, now living together.

It was fun seeing Niizuma trying so hard to get Mashiro and Takagi fired up. He was really rubbing it in their faces. "I've got your favorite editor, I've got your rival, I've got 2 good mangas, etc." One couldn't have said "come and get me" any clearer. It got Ashirogi fired up, but at the same time they won't be able to catch him with this gag manga, at least not like this.

Can already see the stress on Takagi though. He's already struggling because this isn't his strength. Right now he's managing to drag out enough ideas to keep Tanto afloat, but it's hard to say how long he can do it. After all he has to think of the inventions for the good guys and for the bad guys, but it's all got to be comical. They are getting the attention of kids, but not the fanbase that supported Trap. The fact that it's lost Niizuma's interest says volumes on its own.

I really wish Takagi had let Kaya just beat the crap out of Iwase. The only reason she is there is because Natural was scoring higher so she could come there while standing on her arrogant pedestal. Can't see this girl ending up happy with the way she looks at things. She'll only be interested in those she judges of having great talent. Now that she feels superior to Takagi she can feel comfortable about not being with him. I really want to see Natural crash and burn just to see her go down.

I do wonder though what will be the tipping point here. Takagi's stress, Kaya taking action, Hattori, Niizuma, really anyone might force a serious change to take place. Right now Tanto isn't going to make them #1 and while a long running comedy may get an anime, I'm not sure if the pride of Ashirogi can wait that long. They have to make a stand and do something.

Watching Ashirogi draw this retch manga is like watching a thoroughbred race horse pulling a dung cart. Pretty depressing. And having sad-sack Takahama looking miserable now that Miura has crushed his soul and made him an assistant again doesn't help.

My hope is that losing to Iwase - and deserving to - pisses off Takagi just as much as losing Niizuma's respect pisses off Mashiro. Takagi has been soft on this whole Tanto disaster, never really standing up to Miura as much as he should have.

Watching Ashirogi draw this retch manga is like watching a thoroughbred race horse pulling a dung cart. Pretty depressing. And having sad-sack Takahama looking miserable now that Miura has crushed his soul and made him an assistant again doesn't help.

My hope is that losing to Iwase - and deserving to - pisses off Takagi just as much as losing Niizuma's respect pisses off Mashiro. Takagi has been soft on this whole Tanto disaster, never really standing up to Miura as much as he should have.

That comparison is spot-on, I couldn't agree more. Watching this part again (since initially reading it) makes me all the more happy that it's offset by Shujin and Kaya's relationship. Alongside manga knowledge, seeing it animated greatly improves my enjoyment of this series and pretty much negates my dislike towards my least favourite arc in Bakuman (when manga-only, if it wasn't for Shujin x Kaya development I would've dropped it for the rest of the arc for sure).

As for my now regularly scheduled Kaya adoration. I've said it before, and I can start saying it here. What a great wife! Her family is pretty awesome, but her support for Shujin is what really made her shine this time around. Stepping up against Iwase at the end like that; you couldn't ask for more. I'm pretty sure I'll be drooling next week when we see her in her wedding dress outside of the OP (although that shot of her with her hair down in the preview was awesome, too).

Wow Kaya's dad was Mashiro's Uncle's best friend. Like how intertwined the two couples are. Congrats on thamarriage and moving in. Wish Kaya had beat up Iwase. Niizume really rubbing it in their faces. Oh man Hiramaru is getting an anime. With Tanto staying at 11th i find it hard for them to get up above Crow and Natural. Don't know what will happen but they have to get better somehow fast.

just watched episode 18 and 19. Is it me or does Miura making it difficult for Ashirogi Muto? I mean when Hattori was their editor sure they had their ups and down but Hattori knew Ashirogi Muto and told them to create a manga based on their strong abilities but Miura is telling them to put more just but it's not even Takagi's strong point. It could help them in the future but it would not be successful right now. Eiji said their best manga was one of their first ones, I think it was Money and Intelligence or something. They should try something similar to that instead of some gag manga.

That comparison is spot-on, I couldn't agree more. Watching this part again (since initially reading it) makes me all the more happy that it's offset by Shujin and Kaya's relationship. Alongside manga knowledge, seeing it animated greatly improves my enjoyment of this series and pretty much negates my dislike towards my least favourite arc in Bakuman (when manga-only, if it wasn't for Shujin x Kaya development I would've dropped it for the rest of the arc for sure).

As for my now regularly scheduled Kaya adoration. I've said it before, and I can start saying it here. What a great wife! Her family is pretty awesome, but her support for Shujin is what really made her shine this time around. Stepping up against Iwase at the end like that; you couldn't ask for more. I'm pretty sure I'll be drooling next week when we see her in her wedding dress outside of the OP (although that shot of her with her hair down in the preview was awesome, too).

You may have a good approach here. Instead of dwelling on how terrible Ashirogi's manga has gotten can focus on the positives which pretty much center completely around Kaya !

Have to say that Kaya really has turned into one of my favorite characters during the series. She really is saving this arc from driving people completely insane. She stepped up against Iwase and would have done more than that if Shujin hadn't stopped her.

Takagi got the blessing ^^
Now it's time for Mashiro & Azuki!
Niizuma sure struck gold with the second manga.
His popularity just keeps growing. Well, he does write the best manga after all.
Ashirogi Muto needs to step up to Niizuma's challenge!!